NEW YORK (AP) — Derek Hill made quite a first impression with the Philadelphia Phillies by hitting dramatic ninth-inning homers in consecutive games this week.
He might have made an even more lasting impact on his new teammates with an incredible catch Friday night.
Hill made a spectacular grab to rob Juan Soto of a two-run homer in the first inning, helping Zack Wheeler and the Phillies to a 2-1 victory over the staggering New York Mets.
“Best one I’ve
ever seen in person,” Wheeler said.
The Phillies scored once in the top of the first off Mets rookie Zach Thornton but left two runners on before Soto launched what appeared to be a go-ahead homer to right-center in the bottom half.
Hill, racing at full speed, leaped at the wall and snared Soto’s drive high above the fence.
“Unbelievable catch,” Soto said. “When you see the replays, you see how impressive it was. He didn’t have any time. He just went straight to the wall and jumped. That was incredible.”
Wheeler smiled on the mound before Hill exchanged high-fives and chest bumps with right fielder Brandon Marsh.
“That was unbelievable,” Phillies interim manager Don Mattingly said. “The replay, almost even better.”
The crowd of 39,077 at Citi Field agreed with Mattingly, gasping and even applauding some when the highlight was shown on the large videoboard in center.
“I just kind of blacked out on it — just pure instinct and what not,” Hill said. “But I knew I had a chance because the wind was kind of knocking things down a little bit today.”
The catch was the latest bit of misfortune for the Mets, who lost their seventh consecutive game in Andy Green’s debut as interim manager.
Green replaced Carlos Mendoza, who was fired Friday morning after the high-priced Mets reached the season’s midpoint at 34-47 and 9 1/2 games back of the last NL wild-card berth.
“I do think that was one of the more ridiculous catches I’ve ever seen,” Green said.
Hill said it was the best catch he’s made in a seven-year big league career — especially since he robbed Soto, a four-time All-Star.
“Obviously, the guy I did it against makes it a little bit cooler,” Hill said.
Asked what he said to Hill after the inning, Wheeler grinned.
"`Thank you very much,’” Wheeler said.
The defensive gem added to a memorable three days for Hill, who hit the go-ahead homer in the ninth inning of a 5-4 win over the Washington Nationals on Wednesday before he capped a five-run ninth Thursday with another two-run shot in a 10-5 victory.
Hill also singled leading off the seventh Friday and scored the tiebreaking run on Trea Turner’s two-out single off Huascar Brazobán. Hill is batting .357 in 12 games with the Phillies since he was acquired from the Chicago White Sox for cash on June 11.
“We saw him and identified him as a guy that can help us,” Mattingly said. “You see the defense. You see the speed. The at-bats have been good. Everything’s obviously really good.”
___
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
